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‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7: Cast Member Jeffrey Dean Morgan Talks Negan Before Apocalypse And A ‘TWD’ Prequel — Robert Kirkman Says Saviors Leader Is ‘Naive’

By Tony Smejek
Published on: 08:29 PST, Oct 20, 2016

The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere is only a few days away and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is comparing the nature of Negan to that of Rick Grimes. Being a fan of the comic and the show himself, he figured it would be pretty nice to have a Negan prequel. Creator Robert Kirkman also addressed the Saviors’ leader in regards to his villainous character.

The Nature Of Negan

Morgan spoke with Entertainment Weekly regarding how he thought Negan was before the apocalypse. He figured he was probably this way before it all went down, considering that he came right out of the chute doing what he did at the end of Season 6. It seems as if his personality was already established and Negan wasn’t likely a product of the changing environment.

“I think he was probably a little bit of an a**hole and a little bit of a bully.”

Morgan then came right out and spoke on how fun it would be to do a prequel for his character.

“I don’t think this all just came about after the apocalypse. It would be fun to do a prequel to who Negan was. I know [creator Robert Kirkman] has been writing this before-we-know-Negan graphic novel. He’s releasing little pieces of it now.”

He’s right, as there is a Here’s Negan 48-page graphic novel that comes out via the Image + publication in four-page increments. The Hollywood Reporter debuted the first page of the villain’s back story. Morgan said he spoke with Robert Kirkman after Talking Dead and was told there would be a back story for the TV show after all. So it would be interesting to see how it compares to The Walking Dead prequel comic.

Morgan continued on with his take on what his character may have been like prior to this all going down, finding him comparable to a typical bully, only this time the bully has a deadly gang backing him and the ability to play it cool.

“I think Negan’s always been the d**k you went to high school with, but he also has a razor sharp sense of humor, which goes hand-in-hand with this sort of bullying he does — it’s all with a sharp wit.”

There’s also a sense of humor to consider as you cannot help but chuckle at some of Negan’s dialogue. This was already seen in the 2016 New York Comic Con’s The Walking Dead Season 7 sneak peek. It opened with him saying, “Is the joke that bad?” and then the manner of how he questioned Simon on what type of cutting instrument Rick Grimes had. “A hatchet?!”

“Here’s the thing with Negan: He’s going to make you laugh. Even through the worst of it, you will find yourself smiling against your will. And I think that’s exactly how he was as a kid and through high school and stuff. That’s how we’re playing him, anyway. That’s how I’m going at it. He didn’t turn into this in one day. He’s been working at it for a while.”

Rick Grimes Just As Bad As Negan?

During The Walking Dead Season 6 finale, Negan does make a valid point that Rick killed a ton of his people, albeit proactively, so really the Grimes crew is getting off easy. Through the seasons, the story was mostly focused on the main star as he accrues friends/allies over time. He gains the kind of confidence where he feels he and his team can take on anyone if they work together to survive. Audiences witnessed that during The Walking Dead’s Season 7 ending when the group was encountering numerous people that stem from The Saviors, and Rick loses whatever he had going for him.

“Whatever you had going for you, that’s over,” according to Negan during The Walking Dead TV promo.

Morgan emphasized that even he knows that Rick has ripped a man’s throat out by his teeth. So, is it really the pot calling the kettle black on referring to each other a psychopath?

Robert Kirkman Addresses Changing Show

There comes a time when all good things come to an end, and the focus has been on Rick Grimes through the seasons. According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s “going to be pulled way back.”

In The Walking Dead Season 7 preview, Kirkman talked about some major changes occurring with the new season.

“The kind of stories we tell changes. The show itself changes.”

The creator also addressed more about Negan’s nature and what state Rick Grimes will be in at this point. According to Kirkman, “we’re gonna see a shaken Rick Grimes in season seven.” At this point, he faces off with the leader of the Saviors and Kirkman further elaborated that his methods are of “fear and intimidation,” but also would be naive enough to think he can forcibly get people to cooperate with him.

“You’ll find Negan to be a strangely reasonable, strangely relatable, strangely psychotic character.”

The Walking Dead and Negan fans can speculate all they want, but only three days remain until AMC debuts Season 7 on Oct. 23, at 9 p.m. EST.

[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]

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